Raptors ragged in win over Knicks

New York's Bargnani booed in return to Toronto

Rudy Gay of the Raptors gets up close and personal with Andrea Bargnani of the New York Knicks at the ACC last night. Toronto mounted a late comeback to earn a 100-91 victory. (Veronica Henri/Toronto Sun)

There was little magic in the air for the return of Il Mago to his old stomping grounds as Andrea Bargnani’s first trip back to Toronto came up short.

Bargnani, ignoring booing by the Raptors faithful every time he touched the ball, managed to contribute 10 points and four rebounds, but Toronto mounted a late comeback to emerge victorious, 100-91.

Perhaps because the arena was unusually barren, the expected sour reception for Bargnani wasn’t as vocal as most anticipated. Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and Tracy McGrady all were greeted with far more venom than Bargnani. Damon Stoudamire probably received the most similar treatment to Bargnani.

Bargnani, of course, didn’t demand an exit or bail in free agency like the others. He was dealt when it was clear it was completely untenable for him to remain a Raptor.

How he will fit with one of the most bizarre groups assembled in recent NBA history remains to be seen, but his teammates and coaches like him, which is a good first step.

As for the Raptors, the kindest thing to say at this point is it’s nice that five pre-season games remain before things kick off for real because despite a 2-1 record, much work remains to be done.

The team has had a horrible time taking care of the ball — 23 more turnovers allowed the bricklaying (17.2% from three) Knicks to lead much of the way. The defence has had issues and the bench has been brutal for much of the three contests.

The insertion of Quincy Acy late in the fourth sparked the Raptors and made the performance of the bench more passable in this one.

The second-year forward, who has been working on his perimeter game, hit a clutch three pointer after faking and driving in for a dunk on the previous possession, and also delivered on defence, drawing an important charge.

“When I get in, I’ve got to show that I belong,” Acy said.

One Raptor not in need of any more tuneups is DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan played well in Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota, then played one of the better games of his NBA career against the Knicks.

DeRozan was particularly sharp in the first half, taking the Knicks off of the dribble and getting to the basket whenever he wanted. DeRozan also moved the ball far better than he had in the first two exhibitions, twice finding Jonas Valanciunas for dunks off of pretty dishes.

After missing just one shot in a 17-point outing against the Wolves, in addition to six trips to the line, DeRozan scored 20 in 32 minutes.

“My goal is to try to get into the top five of free throws and that comes with being aggressive,” DeRozan said.

“Straight line drive, get to the basket. I got a lot stronger so I can take more contact and try to finish more.”

DeRozan then relayed a message from Bargnani, who said in the Knicks locker room that the fans had the right to treat him as they saw fit.

“He’s been here a long time. Way before I was here. Sometimes you just need a new home,” DeRozan said.

“A new place to start over and regroup and figure out a new identity. I wish him the best of luck with that.”

JONAS V A BIG IL MAGO FAN

Though he was sidelined often during their lone year together, Andrea Bargnani helped Jonas Valanciunas get better.

By going up against him at practice, Valanciunas was able to improve as a defender.

“He’s a good player, he’s a real good player. That was good practice for me, going against him,” Valanciunas recalled Friday, before the Raptors took on Bargnani and the New York Knicks.

“He’s a great player so I hope he’s going to find himself in New York. It seems he’s doing well. I wish him luck.”

Valanciunas and fellow frontcourt starter Amir Johnson did not like Toronto fans booing Bargnani at times last season.

“We were pissed, man. As fans they should be supportive. But we had to keep playing through it,” Johnson said.

“He was still part of the team, so I didn’t like that fans booed him last year, but what happened, happened. You can’t control fans,” Valanciunas said.

The Knicks certainly aren’t booing Bargnani. Head coach Mike Woodson raved about him pre-game and told him not to worry about any cat-calls at the ACC.

Woodson said he could understand why Toronto fans felt Bargnani didn’t live up to expectations, but said the Knicks “love him and are happy to have him.”

Raptors ragged in win over Knicks

New York's Bargnani booed in return to Toronto

There was little magic in the air for the return of Il Mago to his old stomping grounds.

Andrea Bargnani’s first trip back to Toronto came up short.

Bargnani ignored booing by the Raptors faithful every time he touched the ball and managed to contribute 10 points and four rebounds, but Toronto mounted a late comeback to emerge victorious, 100-91.

Perhaps because the arena was unusually barren, the expected sour reception for Bargnani wasn’t as vocal as most anticipated. Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and Tracy McGrady all were greeted with far more venom than Bargnani. Damon Stoudamire probably received the most similar treatment to Bargnani.

Bargnani, of course, didn’t demand an exit or bail in free agency like the others, he was dealt when it was clear it was completely untenable for him to remain a Raptor.